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“Gran Bahia Principe Akumal: great for siesta, good for fiesta and lots more!!!”

Reviewed September 14, 2012

Maybe is not the best hotel in the world but overall in my opinion is just excellent. If you are looking for luxury this hotel is not for you, is very popular and all year round busy and there is only one reason for this: it is a good and really nice hotel! If you are on all inclusive is excellent for value as well. Rooms are clean and tidy (if in the room there is a musty smell is cause the humid climate that affect all Mexico) , the variety of the food at the buffet is wide and some à la carte restaurant are really good. Beaches and pools are clean (get used to wake up at the sunrise if you want find a lounger, you can't do it, it's not that bad; sunrise at the beach is breathtaking, make some pictures) and the staff (most Mexican) is really friendly, they work really hard and if sometimes they look tired or rude is only because they are under pressure all the time (and yes most of them maybe don't speech a perfect english or they don't speech it at all because they are Mexican and they speech spanish, not all of us are born english speaker, sometimes we should do an effort and try to speech and understand their languages for once). One thing: don't expect more than what you paid! If you want that touch of class or style pay more and go in another place!

The entire resort of Gran Bahia Principe at Play del Carmen is huge. You have to get about from a lobby to another by little shuttle, usually you don't wait for them more than 10 minutes (if sometimes the "pilot" drive them like a crazy drunk don't worry, they're still locos Mexicans) . If you are not too lazy and fancy walk you'll 100% bump into lots of animals from the surrounding jungle. All the lobby are structured in the same way to make guests' life easy. In each lobby you can find: free Wi-Fi , reception, public relation point, buffet, snack bar, toilets and shops, public telephones, bars, travel agents desks, theatre for the night live show etc. Inside the resort there is also another structure called The Hacienda with shops, toilet, pharmacy, bar, where every Thursday, they use to do the Mexican Party with live music, games and fireworks (must get the ticket at the reception and they'll put on your bill). There is a small disco as well "La Rancherita" and if you would go out of the resort and go to Playa del Carmen (the nearest town) or visit some place during the day or night there are always at the entrance of the hotel taxi and public transport ready for you at very good prices. Maybe the only thing they can improve is the animation/activities during the day. For the rest great resort!

Some quick tips:Best restaurants:"Mikado" (Japanese Teppanyaki), in my opinion, is the best but also "La Gran Tortuga" (Brasilian) and "Tequila" (Mexican) are the nicest one. Between the buffet, Coba is the best. Even if is all inclusive tips are always welcome for Mexican (their salary are very low so don't be shy and leave some change).

Best beach:Akumal and Coba are the best. Coba beach has animation in the morning. Tulum is a bit rocky.N.B. If you don't want your kids get shocked by women in topless (they'll see them anyway in Tv or magazines) don't go to the beach, stay in the pool. ;)

Must see attraction:Michael Jackson tribute show!Don't expect a Broadway masterpiece but it is a good and well-done show made by local performer.

First the bad things to say about Bahia Principe Akumal........now for the good!

What a fantastic holiday Wendi and I have just had. We had looked at the weather forecasts before we left UK and were a bit concerned that most days said partly cloudy and showers.

In two weeks we had one shower and the clouds seemed to pass us by.

We arrived and checked in within five minutes and walked about 30 metres to our air conditioned 2nd floor suite. It was also overlooking the beach which was about 30metres away as was the massive meandering pool with it's 3 jacuzzi/spas.

The suite, as the complex, was absolutely spotless, our maid Justina keeping it this way, with a different 'towel animal' each day.

The buffet restaurant had so much choice of food that we did not consider visiting any of the a la carte restaurants. Our drinks waiter/servers, Denis and Absalom were friendly and efficient and although busy we did not have to wait for more than a couple of minutes for a table.

On the way into the restaurant was the Privilege club team, arranging ' presentations'. A lovely young lady, Ana, arranged this and although it wasn't for us, she waved and stopped to talk each time we passed. The incentive for the presentation was a 'free' 25 minute massage in the spa centre which was so relaxing. She gave us some great advice about using the local buses, the Collectiva and recommended some places to visit such as Playa del Carmen, 40 minutes and only 40 pesos on the bus. We also went to Akumal bay and snorkelled with turtles and sting rays and Yal Ku, a salt water lagoon with great numbers of fish to see as you snorkel. We also walked 100 metres or so along the beach to the dolphinarium where Wendi swam with the dolphins.

We spent most days on the beach with its white sand and shallow clear sea where many fish swam alongside you and pelicans often launched themselves from the rocks around the bay.There seemed to be more than enough sunbeds for all with three bars accessible to get the iced drinks regularly to cool you down. Again the bar staff were so friendly. When we sat around the pool, there were several large friendly iguanas that would wander around and shelter under sunbeds.

Akumal was a large complex but did not seem impersonal and a couple of evenings we caught the internal buggies to Coba and the even larger Tulum complex where again the staff seemed very friendly.

We attended the entertainment shows a few nights and the Michael Jackson show particularly was incredible and so professional.

As previously mentioned the food was excellent and I felt so guilty (not) that I even went to the air-conditioned gym at 7am four times!

All in all, although we had a fantastic relaxing holiday we still felt that we had seen a few places that perhaps we would not have got to if not recommended by staff.

We cannot understand some of the negative reviews on Trip advisor as we would unreservedly recommend this holiday to anybody.

We hope to return one day.

Wendi and Mike Saunders-Cardiff, UK .

Room Tip: Our block was block 48, 47-50 are all close to beach, pool, bar and reception.

Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know your impressions of our Hotel and services.

It is for guests like you who send us some nice, inspiring words after their holiday, that our personal finds every day the motivation and energy to keep on the good work. I am very happy that you appreciated the service and personal attention of the employees. I hope we can repeat this wonderful experience in the near future and I really advice you to try the restaurants a la Carte for your next visit.

Please contact us before you arrive and we will give the proper follow up to all your request. You can e-mail me to: subdirectorbpaku@bahia-principe.com, and it will be a pleasure to assist you.

It was our pleasure to be at your service!

Kind regards From Mexico

Diana Hurtado Sub Director Gran Bahia Principe Akumal

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Have waited a while to write a review after our wonderful visit to this huge resort. I will also put reviews on the Tulum and Coba bits separately, as allthough on same grounds they all have their own charcter, some which may suit some more than others.It is quiet difficult to write something which hasnt already been said on this site about this hotel. Yes its a longcoach trip from the airport, but coach was good and courier keen to give information about resort and Mexico.Nice welcome to hotel and check in was quick, bags delivered to room. Room had all we required for our stay, was very clean and kept that way by staff all stay. Aircon worked well and didnt make a noise at night, something we have had issue with in other hotels. Rooms are large and had a good quality lcd tv. Bathroom again large with spa bath and good shower, only issue was with extracter fan which didnt seem to work well at all, mirrors soon covered in condensation. Block we stayed in was at the back end of the golden section, very quiet and minutes from the beach, also convient for the tram train service which is really helpful and is a must use if you are going to make the most of the resort. When we read the reviews on here regards the trams we laughed and said we wont be using them as we love walking, well in that heat if you think you can walk every where good luck! Drivers great and come and list where you wanted to get off, a great idea at night after one or two glasses of spirts. Word of warning dont be shy to get on quick when they stop, other wish you will be left standing waiting for the next one. Food and service in buffet was always very good, we didnt use all the time as we found Tulum to be more to our liking. Same with the bar area, we enjoyed the early evening in the Akumal for a coffee and a Baileys, but found the atmosphere better at the Tulum and the music more upbeat. Really liked the beach at this hotel, easy to get sunbeds. Liked the sheltered bays which made swimming easy, and great to see all the wonderful fish. Nice to walk up to beach bar and get a drink, The only real downside which almost every one mentions is the pool areas and the sun bed situation. If you dont get down before eight forget getting a place by the pool, but you could allways do what dozens did whilst we were there go down before day break go back to bed till lunch and then turn up. The hotel has really got to get to grips with this situation as it is very poor. Would only take someone going round once or twice a week and moving towels to stop it happening. Even with the sunbed issue I would still recomend this hotel and resort, what I think really makes it special is the fantastic staff who I cannot say enough good things about, they are a credit to the resort and their country.

First of all thank you for trusting the Gran Bahia Principe Akumal Resort and choosing us to enjoy your holidays in our resort.

I really appreciate you taking the time to send us some valuable comments about your stay with us and congratulations to the personal, and I will pass on the comments to all the persons mentioned in your mail and all the departments involved.

Please let us know before your next visit to have ready all your room request that you can have and also prebook you dinners. So please e-mail me to: subdirectorbpaku@bahia-principe.com

Once again I thank so much all this feedback of your stay.

Have a niceRegards from Mexico

Diana Hurtado Sub DirectorGran Bahia Principe Akumal

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

We stayed at Gran Bahia Principe Akumal in the Golden Resort. Villa 6812. Room was immaculate. Clean Towels. MIni Fridge restocked everyday. Lovely view from balcony of the Sea...Idyllic surroundings of the Jungle . First time I have been away and slept well because the bed was so comfortable. However I must say that getting a sun tan especially by the pool can be extremely difficult, not because of the weather but because everybody had reserved a sun bed by 7 am. My boyfriend got up earlier there than he did at home going to work. What was so ironic you would not see these people for most of the day.

We also did not like the fact you get pestered continually by Privilage workers who are constantly in your face asking you to join them for breakfast.. Unfortunately we got roped into going and was with them for 2 hours until they finally got the message we was not interested. We felt their approach was somewhat bullish at times, even desperate too. Shouting free dolphin swims in the end.

I recommend the A la cartes especially the Japanese, they make you feel very special. But avoid Dolce VIta. It's way too hot in there and the service is awful. I waited half an hour for a drink !!!!

The buffet restaurants are okay but again far too hot including the club rooms. With only overhead fans which after a while just blow hot heat around the room.

We would like to thank you for have taken you time to write us your comments during your staying in our Complex. For Gran Bahia Principe all comments, suggestions or criticisms are very important and taken in heart, because our clients are the best supervisor we have

It is nice to know that you enjored your holidays, it will be a pleasure to welcome you again in the near future and give you a better service, so please contact us in case you that would like to come back

Once again, I thank you so much this feedback about your stay with us.

Have a nice Day

Regards

Diana HurtadoSub DirectorGran Bahia Principe Akumal

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

My husband and I came to this resort for our long awaited honeymoon, we didn't want to bring the kids and we had to rush since we are expecting our next child. My travel agent reccomended this resort to us and by gosh she had it spot on. I am a manager of a hotel so I am always cautious when booking, I read through trip advisor and when I saw the bad reviews well I was very hesitant. But I am glad I did not listen and found out for myself, I will address some of the other bad reviews since most were very small. The buffet well, you had a choice of various food and there was always something there for everyone, being limited on what I could eat well let's say I never went hungry, you had a choice between your resort and the other adjoining two to travel from so u never run out of options. The transportation, since the resort is huge they run a transport throughout ur resort and the other two, they will pick u up and drop u off anywhere in the resort.. Even to the beach (as I read it was a hike to get there) and that is true however there are so many villas there and depending on the package you get is where u are placed, but again all u would have to do is wait no longer than 15 min and they wil be there to take you where ever u need to go. The hot water thing did suck, I am partial to my baths and showers, however it wasnt a big deal since all day you were in and out of the sea or pools so there really was no point unless you have a dinner booked, than I didn't mind the cooler shower since its so humid there. Honestly the things others have complained about is really small and not worth listening to, my room was fabulous always made up, clean mini bar restocked, our room was always clean and honestly Anywhere you go, anyone can always find problems however with the hard work you see these people put into the resort, and on top of everything, no matter what time, the entertainment and the activities they have for everyone including children, I am defiently coming back with my kids since this is an experience I know they would enjoy! Don't just take people's word for trying this resort there are many satisfied people who don't write on trip advisor who we talked to come back every year for the same reason! It's a fantastic resort!!! Try it and see for yourself!

Stayed September 2012

Value

Location

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Helpful?

5Thank LWebber16

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Ask LWebber16 about Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal Don Pablo Collection

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

First of all thank you for trusting the Gran Bahia Principe Akumal Resort and choosing us to enjoy your holidays. We really appreciate that you are taking the time to send us some valuable comments about your stay with us

It is nice to know that you really had a great time at the our Resort and you will be back, Please write us a little mail before your arrival to accomodate your request and prebook your dinners. We will be happy to welcome you again and give you a better service as the repetitive guest that you would be.

Once again, Thanks for your inspiring words.

My best Regards

Diana HurtadoSub Director AkumalGran Bahia Principe Akumal

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Firstly I just want to say this is the first ever review I have ever felt the need to write and Im really not a moany person, I just believe you should get what you pay for.

We had a very disappointing 2 week holiday at Grand Bahia Principe, Akumal in July. We were a group of 4 adults, 1 child and an infant.

We have stayed at another Bahia Principe hotel in the Dominican Republic so we felt very confident in recommending this hotel to our family who travelled with us.

The standard of the hotel was definitely not a 5 star! It was a good 3 star at most. The decor was poor and finished to a very bad standard with most areas needing some maintenance.

The food was very unsatisfactory and of poor quality, it was very much the same food and deserts every night of the week. We noticed on the second week that there was supposed to be a different theme each night but the food never changed? The standard of food for the al a cart restaurants was also poor and lacking imagination (Apart from the Japanese restaurant which was by far the best food we had eaten in 2 weeks). We would have liked to eat there again but it was virtually impossible to book the a la cart restaurants unless you done so at least a week in advance, although the a la cart restaurants were practically empty every time we went? We were having lunch in the Tulllum Hotel one day and several of our group chose a pancake roll from the buffett. When we tried to eat them, they were still frozen in the middle. We brought this to the attention of the waiter and he just laughed and took it away, but never came back or nothing was even done about it. I went back into the food hall and waited for a new batch to come out of the kitchen and then I took another 2 back to my table. I was absolutely shocked to find out that the second batch was also still frozen in the middle! At breakfast, there was never any English breakfast tea available. We had to ask several times and even speak to a manager before we were served any. The waiting staff simply kept saying sorry no tea and were trying to give us coffee or flavoured teas which we don't drink. We resulted in actually having to buy our own teabags to save the frustration every morning. Although when we did this, we were served luke warm water every time. We had to keep specifically asking for boiling water. We were not fussed about being served tea and we would of been very happy with the facilities to make our own. When this was suggested to the restaurant manager and First Choice rep, we were laughed at saying "they don't care about us English", but this was quickly dismissed by the manager saying they care about everyone, although nothing was ever done to accommodate us, it just become a morning routine to struggle for tea every day.

Our rooms were located close to the main lobby (5105 & 5112), and although we had a baby, they had put us on the first floor meaning we had to carry the buggy and baby up and down several times per day. They had put our other family members on the ground floor so this surely would have made sense to allocate the ground floor rooms to those with children or disabilities etc? Our rooms had many faults including a broken mini fridge (which contained very few items and were hardly ever replenished), a faulty plug socket which buzzed and sparked as if it had a short circuit, a broken bath plug which meant we had to shower our infant and loose ceiling debris that had fallen from a previous leak. We were attracted to this hotel due to the size and facilities on offer but this meant that to use the other hotels and al a cart restaurants we had to get the mini trains which were shockingly dangerous! There were never enough trains and as we also had a buggy there was only 1 place on the train that it would fit, and guaranteed it would be full every time meaning we had to wait for several trains before we could catch one. As there was such a shortage of trains there was always people rushing and pushing to get on them and the drivers were rushing around so much to get people to their destinations that on one occasion we were in the process of passing our 8 month old baby onto the train when the driver started to drive off. Thank god we managed to shout to the driver to stop and no harm was done. This could have been a serious accident! We were very unfortunate with the weather but this has never stopped us enjoying our holidays in the past. Water would pour through the ceilings and light fittings every time it rained making the marble floor extremely slippery causing 2 members of our group to fall over. Thankfully they were only embarrassed and no one was seriously hurt. As the weather was so poor most days, we had to stay inside and endure the very poor entertainment programmes which were unnecessarily loud meaning most of the parents with children had to sit in the lobby. Also the bar staff were massively understaffed and meant we had to wait for ages to be served drinks.

Finally, on flight out our cases were at the limit of 20kg and should have obviously been lighter coming back as we had used all of the cosmetics etc, and when we weighed the cases at the hotel, they confirmed we were all under the limit of 20kg per person. However, at the airport we were told our cases were a combined 7kg over meaning we had to pay £120 extra to get our cases home. This was not just us, there were literally a dozen people within sight that had to either throw some of their belongings away or pay the unrealistic and unfair prices to get their cases home. We were so puzzled by this that we actually weighed our cases when we got home which confirmed that our cases were in fact under the 20kg limit? Just a word of warning for anyone who packs their cases to the limit.

I can honestly say that this is the first review I have ever wrote after one of our holidays, and we feel very let down. I have never understood people complaining about their holidays as we had always had such a good experience, but now I can see their frustration. We had saved for a long time to go to Mexico and had always dreamed it would be an amazing holiday, but it is the first time in many holidays over the years that we have been truly disappointed. We paid over £5000 for this group holiday and we feel it was not worth that at all.

Stayed July 2012, traveled with family

Value

Location

Sleep Quality

Rooms

Cleanliness

Service

Helpful?

6Thank Perry C

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Ask Perry C about Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal Don Pablo Collection

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

I would like to firstly take this opportunity to apologize on behalf of the hotel for the discomfort felt by yourself and your husband for the fact that our staff has not been able to meet your expectations in respect to solve your problems and that the events have finished the way you mention.

I will take the proper actions in order to improve better supervision to avoid these situations happen again.

I hope that this incidents will not be the sole memory you took home with you. Our staff in general and our hotel are well known to be very accommodating and service oriented with our guests and this particular situation should not be the instrument to measure us as a whole.Thank you for making me participant of this very important feed back. I will do the best I can to make sure this was a unique an isolate event which will never take place in our resort again.

Concluding the situation, we can only hope you accept our apologies.

Kind Regards

Diana HurtadoSub DirectorGran Bahia Principe Akumal

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Overall we loved our time at Bahia Akumal - lovely beaches, good room (although it smelt of damp and the bed was broken, the main light was also broken so we spent two days in the dark and our shower got blocked but they fixed these things fairly quickly) , fantastic food and a truly all inclusive deal.

We spent most of our days at the beach, I am a fan of sea life and loved the fish life although it's no Red Sea. Spending time at the swim up bar was also fabulous, they have a good array of cocktails.

Chichen Itza is a must whilst you're our here - we went on a Thomson's all inclusive trip here which was excellent, but there are plenty of excursions to book at the hotel with other companies.

A word of warning though - the hotel will attempt to sell you their "Premier Club" deal, taking you over to Coba for what they say is a 90 minute talk and they will provide breakfast or lunch. What it really turned out to be was more the 2 hours with no food or drink whilst they tried to force time share on us. They lied about the lunch and we were very thirsty in the heat. We ended up being late for an excursion and they got really aggressive with us when we said we had to leave for it (even though I had told them what time we had to leave right at the beginning) We also then ended up missing lunch so went hungry until dinner. Very bad form of the resort if you ask me and they should stop this nonsense at once. That's my only complaint.

Overall a good holiday - although I would recommend it more for families than couples as there were a few hundred children around!

Room Tip: We had an upgrade to the Golden Akumal, but to be honest I don't think it's worth the extra...

We would like to thank you for have taken you time to write us your comments during your staying in our Complex. For Gran Bahia Principe all comments, suggestions or criticisms are very important and taken in heart, because our clients are the best supervisor we have.

For us, it is a pleasure to know that you really enjoyed your holidays and we really full your expectations. It will be a pleasure to have you with us in the near Future due that our repeating guests are our most valued customers, not for any monetary reasons, but for their loyalty and patronage to our chain.

So please contact us for your next visit to : subdirectorbpaku@bahia-principe.com , and we will ensure you a better vacations.

Kind Regards

Diana HurtadoSub DirectorGran Bahia Principe Akumal

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

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Also Known As:

Gran Bahia Principe Akumal

Bahia Principle

Bahia Principe Mexico

Gran Bahia Principe Hotel Akumal

Mexico Bahia Principe

Bahia Principe Tulum

Grand Bahia Principe Akumal

Bahia Principe Riviera Maya

Bahia Mexico Principe

Akumal Gran Bahia Principe

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